Lightning Blamed for Blaze at Home of Local Firefighter

A local firefighter’s home was damaged Wednesday after being struck by lightning.

Deputy Chief Chris Burnham said the firefighter and his wife were at home around 4:15 p.m. when a nearby tree was struck by a bolt of lightning.

The electrical charge traveled underground and caused the basement of the home at 41 Brandyview Terrace to catch fire.

The firefighter, whose name is not being released, fled the two- story home with his wife, but the family cat named Spike was trapped inside.

Burnham went inside the house and found the unconscious cat under a wood stove.

Burnham took Spike outside the home where Animal Control Officer Bobby Silcott used a pet oxygen mask to successfully revive the animal. The mask is relatively new, the result of a fundraising effort by Silcott and a local animal shelter.